A decade after he caught a touchdown pass from Bryan Randall that gave Virginia Tech the ACC championship in its first year in the conference, veteran receiver Eddie Royal is back in business with the San Diego Chargers.
The last of his nine catches...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Adam Vinatieri savored all those New England celebrations.
He made the two big field goals in the "Tuck Rule" playoff game and, of course, the two game-winning Super Bowl kicks.
On Sunday, the longtime Patriots kicker will return...

Here's a list of how players with Virginia connections fared in the playoffs' second week:
Listed by jersey number (if still applicable), name, connections and statistics. Does not include players who previously were listed on injured reserve and...

The transcript of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's session with the media on Thursday. Transcript provided by Patriots media relations staff:
Q: I noticed your eye is red. Did you get poked in the eye?
Tom Brady: Yeah.
Q: Is that...

The transcript of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's session with the media on Wednesday. Transcript provided by Patriots media relations staff:
Bill Belichick: I'd like to start off by saying on behalf of the team and the organization it's a great honor to be in this game, to have the opportunity to compete for the AFC Championship. It's something that the team's worked obviously extremely hard and long to get to this point, to have this opportunity. We're excited about it. We have a...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Chuck Pagano came to Indianapolis making the case for a robust defense.
Now the Colts coach has the proof he needs to demonstrate it's working.
The stats have improved, the game tapes look better and a suddenly stout defense is one of the major reasons the Colts are playing for their third AFC title Sunday at New England.
"We're playing better run defense now than we ever have," Pagano said Monday after shutting down Denver 24-13 in an AFC divisional-round win one day earlier....

The transcript of New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick's conference call with the media on Tuesday. Transcript provided by Patriots media relations staff:
Q: You guys recovered several of your own fumbles on Saturday. Does that speak to the team's toughness, especially Julian Edelman's recovery which seemed like it was one-on-five?
Belichick: I'd say the bottom line on all that is we have to do a much better job of taking care of the ball. We had really four potential turnovers – one...

Yet again, the San Diego Chargers are winning key games late in the regular season. This time, they can credit a lot of guys who are familiar with Virginia.
The Chargers looked all but finished Saturday night against the 49ers, trailing by 21 points in a road game. But despite a long touchdown run by San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick, San Diego gradually came back to where it could tie the game by scoring a TD on its final drive.
On fourth-and-10, with the Niners leading 35-28 and one play...

It was a mixed weekend for some of the Fuller brothers, who are quite familiar to Virginia Tech fans. Two of the Hokies' football program's most prolific family are now in the NFL.
Corey Fuller grabbed the winning touchdown pass to give Detroit a memorable 24-23 comeback win against the New Orleans Saints, keeping the Lions tied for first place with Green Bay in the NFC North.
But the Lions' division rival lost a key player when cornerback Kyle Fuller, who experts say has been playing at an All-Pro...

While Michael Vick and the Jets fell flat against the Bills in a game that was relocated from the Buffalo area to Detroit because of heavy snow in western New York, the week was otherwise mostly quiet for Virginia-area players.
The Giants' Rashad Jennings returned well from an ankle injury, and the Seahawks' Russell Wilson directed the Seahawks to a crucial win against the Cardinals.
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Here's a list of how players with Virginia connections fared in Week 12:
Listed by jersey number...